Tessa spoke first. “I want to see the inside. You can follow me around. I won’t touch a thing. I promise. I’ve been through something like this before,” she added before starting to enter the house.
Officer Waterman clicked then. “You’re the woman who allegedly killed her twins, right? We were talking about you a couple days ago. Saw where you’re getting a new trial.”
“You’re not here to discuss Ms. Jamison’s past, Officer Waterman. The place has been vandalized. You and your men do whatever you have to do, but do not discuss Ms. Jamison’s past in my presence.”
“Man, don’t be so hard on us. No one, at least no one that I know, believes she killed her children or the husband.”
“Really,” Tessa interjected herself into the conversation.
“No, ma’am. No mother in her right mind could do that to her children. I’ve seen a few husbands get what they deserve in my line of work, but no child deserves to go out that way.” He shook his head from side to side. “I’m sorry for your loss, Ms. Jamison.”
“Thank you, Officer Waterman. That means more to me than you know.” And it truly did matter to her. She was not just being polite. She had adapted to the belief that she would be branded a murderer for the rest of her life, so when she came in contact with anyone who believed in her innocence, she would tell them it meant something to her. If she was to remain a free woman, she vowed to always acknowledge those who’d believed in her. During the trial and afterward, during her more than ten years in prison, she had never cared, but now that she had the chance for a new start, she would not jinx herself with negativity just yet.
“Glad to, ma’am. Now, if you’ll excuse us.” Officer Waterman took charge of his men while Tessa waited for the go-ahead before entering her house.
Twenty minutes later, Lee arrived. Tessa was still waiting outside with Sam.
“Any idea who did this?” Succinct, that was Lee.
“No clue. The crime scene techs just got here. Said it will take them a few hours to process the scene,” Sam explained. “Fingerprints, fibers, the usual laundry list of procedures they have to follow.”
“They allow you inside?” he asked Tessa.
“Not yet.”
“Tessa, I can arrange for you to stay someplace else. A hotel, a friend’s house. It will be a while before they let you inside. What about Jill? Do you think she would let you stay with her for the night?”
Why didn’t I think of that? And wasn’t Jill supposed to call me? “Yes, I can stay with her, but first I’d like to call and make sure she doesn’t have other plans.” Tessa knew that Jill had planned on staying at Tessa’s house tonight. She was supposed to call after her scheduled client left. Obviously, she had either forgotten or called the house while they were still at Lee’s office. And Tessa did not have a cell phone. “Sam, can I use your phone?”
“Sure thing.” He handed her the phone, and she dialed Jill’s office number because she knew that Jill left her cell-phone number on her answering-machine message for her clients, and Tessa had no clue what her cell-phone number was. She listened to the recorded message, then motioned to Sam for a pen. He removed a pen from the pocket of one of the police cars and handed it to her. Tessa scribbled the number on the palm of her hand and tossed the pen back to Sam, nodding toward the car. Meaning put the damned pen back where you found it.
After six rings, Jill’s voice mail picked up, asking the caller to leave a short and sweet message. “Hey, Jill, it’s me. I need to stay at your place tonight. Just giving you a heads-up.” She ended the call and returned the phone to Sam.
“You didn’t tell her your place had been trashed, did you?”
“No, it would only cause her to worry. I’ll tell her later. She said she was going to call when she finished up with her client. It’s possible she’s still at her office. Let me try calling again.” Sam tossed his cell phone back to her.
She repeated the call but instead of hanging up, she left a message. “Jill, it’s me. If you can pick up the phone, do so; it’s important.” She waited for a clicking sound, something to indicate that Jill was picking up the phone, but she heard nothing.
“Okay, she isn’t at her office or at home. I’ll get a hotel. Where is Rachelle staying? Maybe she and I can have coffee or dinner, get to know one another.” Given the intense hatred she had felt for the woman ever since finding the bodies in the pool, the words coming from her mouth sounded so strange. Her past intense hatred. Tessa felt sure, even though it opened up the door to so many other possibilities, that Rachelle absolutely believed that Liam was dead. And after learning that Liam’s condo had been burned to the ground, she was beginning to think that Rachelle might be right and Liam really was dead. And, she suddenly realized, putting two and two together, that’s what Harry, Lee, Sam, and even Michael Chen thought. They thought that the bones that had been dug up were Liam’s and that the DNA taken from Rachelle would prove it. And if Liam’s body had been buried, then either Joel or the other man (his twin?) was the killer. Oh my God!
Chapter 28
The crime-scene unit gave Tessa and Sam the all-clear four hours after its arrival. Knowing what the kitchen looked like, Tessa went straight to her new bedroom. It, too, had been trashed, but there really weren’t any personal items she cared about, so it was no loss to her, only to Darlene, who’d spent hours purchasing things for Tessa. Next, she entered the room
